


And So the Tower Fell (And You With It)

by GoldishRedIllusion



Category: DCU (Comics), Superboy (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Wonder Girl (Comics), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: AU, AU of Infinite Crisis, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, F/M, Helena doesn't have any lines but shes important to the story so I tagged her, I am very bad at titles, I might come back and edit this again later, Superbitch Prime, first work don't kill me, koncassie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23987989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldishRedIllusion/pseuds/GoldishRedIllusion
Summary: Conner Kent is not killed by Superboy Prime in every universe.However, someone always has to pay the price.
Relationships: Kon-El | Conner Kent/Cassie Sandsmark
Kudos: 10





	And So the Tower Fell (And You With It)

The sky was filled with a hundred different earths, and it felt like the world was ending. Maybe it wasn’t ending- maybe it would be all fine in the end, but Cassie didn’t know- couldn’t have known that it wasn’t going to end, that everything would continue on like the sky had never split apart and people had never died. So maybe that’s why she had jumped at Prime when she did- because the world was about to end and someone had to do something about it. After all, they were heroes, weren’t they? Didn’t that mean it was worth it if you saved one person- one life, even at the cost of your own?

So maybe that’s why she jumped at him first, why, when Prime threw them both, her lasso stayed wrapped around him- why she was able to get back there faster than Kon, why she was able to push prime through the tower made of a monster’s bones- because she knew it had to be destroyed- that if it wasn't, people would die. After all, hasn’t she been the one to say that before- that saving lives was what they were all about? 

The tower had exploded into a million different pieces when she rammed Prime through it, and it felt like something essential to the world had changed- like something had shifted, and everything was different. The planets disappeared from the sky, merging into one, and the world settled. But none of them had the time to understand this as they were flung over the arctic, burying the scene- and all of them- in the rubble of the golden tower. After the explosion Kon had quickly spotted Cassie’s black boot buried in the rubble, and flew there, using his telekinesis to move the rocks off her as soon as possible. She was still breathing then, and Kon dropped down on his knees to where she was on the ground. Between staggering breaths, she managed out, voice straining, 

“Did we do it? Is everyone okay?” She seemed to be shaking with each word, bright blue eyes looking out hopefully from behind bruised eyelids , and he nodded back, eyes stinging, 

“Yeah, you did it. Everyone is- everyone is great.” He resisted the urge to let out a laugh- no, everything was not okay, everything was not fine, but what do you say to a dying girl- a girl who was- who was- Cassie was dying. _Cassie_. Everything seemed- or had seemed- like it was going to hell, and Cassie was dying.

“Okay”, she whispered back, voice fading, “Say sorry to my mom for me?” Her voice was almost gone then, and her eyes were flickering, struggling to stay open with all her injuries.

“Of course," He said, gripping her hand and knowing there wasn't enough time left to ask why. He took her hand and, voice scratchy, said "I will Cass, I will, just stay with me okay?" His voice felt shaky- too shaky, like he had burned up every bit of confidence and bravado he had thought he once had and was left with just an empty shell, "Just stay awake, okay? Stay awake Cassie, please.” He begged, and she smiled at him, the blood in her mouth staining her lips, and for a moment he felt hope, hope that she would live, that everything would be okay. And then her eyes rolled back in her head, her breath curdled on her blood-stained tongue, and Cassandra Sandsmark died. 

Everything was still, then, for a moment. Like all the birds decided to stop singing at once and the wind stopped whistling and everything was put on pause by some great being. And then Kon realized that it was just him and the world had continued on and the wind was still whistling and back on earth the birds were still chirping and he wanted to scream. Or punch Superboy Prime in the face- take his fist and beat him to the ground and ask him if he liked how it felt, huh, how did he like it? It was then that he realized he was crying- large, wet droplets rolling down his face- and he wanted to scream, to go break what was left of that cursed tower, to go scream at the world and ask “How could you? How dare you?”

Instead, he pulled her body up into his arms and clenched his fists in her limp hair and let himself cry- cry because his friend- his girlfriend- Cassie was dead, and he couldn't do anything about it. Cassie who was bright and kind, who got angry but could control it, who was dorky and outgoing, and- and- she was dead. She was never going to speak again, laugh again, punch a monster in the face again, and it hurt. It hurt like his insides were being taken out and ripped apart, and it didn’t stop. It didn't stop hurting, not even after Nightwing found them and the Justice League arrived, and Diana saw her dead protege's body.

It didn't stop hurting when Tim arrived and crumpled like an origami swan in a giants fist.

It didn’t stop hurting after he told Cassie’s mom everything that had happened- everything she had wanted for him to tell her.

It didn’t stop hurting for a long, long, time.

(And in a dark place not quite on Earth, the soul of Cassandra Sandsmark shouts out. She doesn't know why she is there. And a voice laughs back, darkly, and whispers “It's not so hard to steal a soul.”)

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so I'm more confident about my characterization of Cassie here than Kon, but oh well. And yeah this was probably overly dramatic and angsty or something, but oh well. Also, I did want to mention Tana, because she (Despite my dislike of her and the whole grown-women dates teenaged boy thing) did feel important to the context of the story, but I couldn't find a way to fit her in naturally, so whatever, its fine.
> 
> Also, yes, Nightwing was there fighting Superboy Prime, just like in canon, but there was no reason to mention him here. This diverges from canon mid-Infinite Crisis #6, so he's already been knocked aside by Prime and is doing other stuff by the time this fic starts. Or not whatever you want to think really, I just didn't want to work around him.
> 
> I'll probably come back and edit parts of this later because I'm not entirely pleased with all of it, but I wanted to publish so *shrugs*
> 
> Anyway, have a nice day, hope you enjoyed, etc, etc
> 
> Edit: I have returned to say that I’m ashamed I’ve written something this sentimental, oof.  
> Edit 2: I had forgotten Tim arrives, so I added him. Also, kinda thinking about making this a 'verse (I would also kill Tim, just to fully reverse canon, and would probably have timbart (or timtam) as the other main "endgame" ship, but I don't know)


End file.
